Process for producing alcoholic spirits.



UNIT-ED STATES PATENT. oEEIoE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 10, 19cc.

Application as September 11, 1905. Serial No. 278.009.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WINTERS PAL MER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of 5 s g n,

Alcoholic Spirits, of which the following is a specification.

.This invention is a process for producing alcoholic spirits from sugar and bran, refer ably wheat-bran and ordinary sugar, alt ough applicable to 'the use ofmolasses or other.

' saccharine substances.

The object of the invention is to produce '1 5 an improved novel fermenting agentand proca mash for distillation and essmmaking useful for either sweet or sour mash s irits,

although particularly a plicable to the atter. It'is requirement of t e United States revezo nuev laws that the mash should not be robbed or stufied-that'is, taken from or added to during the fermentin period. Hence it is essentia for a practicalfie distilling process that it shall not require the addi- 2 5 tionof the ferment" g a ent after the mash ,is set, as is necessary to e done under some processes. .The present invention'also has n the advantage that it is simple and cheap as com ared to other processes of producin whis and the like, and it is better an cheaper than fermentation produced by the use of hop-and-malt east. In the practice of t e'process I first make a "yeast of; say, five gallons of .hot water, ten pounds of sugar or other saccharine matter, and five pounds of wheat-bran, which are stirred together. and set aside to ferment, which usually'takes from five to eight days, no other matter or yeast of any kind bem required or added, after which it should stand one or two days to become quite sour. Then it is ready for use as a fermenting agent for the first or sweet mash. Then a mash is 'made of any desired qiuantity of water--say from one to five hun red gallons-which 1s used quite hot, but not be In this is dissolved three to five pounds 0 sugar to the gallon: To this is stirred in three to five pounds of wheat-bran to the gallon, and the mash is then run into the fermenting-tub. Then the yeast previously prepared is poured into the mash. N 0 grain 'or malt of any kind is used, the mash b mg made wholly of sugar bran, and water. This yeast contains soul have invented new and useful Improvements in Processes for Producing bran, which sinks to the bottom andat once becomes a fermenting agent, so that within 5 an hour violent fermentation is in progress. The complete fermentation-requires about seventy-two hours, after which the mash is run out for distillation, retaining in the tub a few gallons of the fermented mash to start and quicken the fermentation in the new or sour mash, after which'the sour-mash process may be continued indefinitely.- When the small quantity of fermented or sour mash retained in the tub comes in contact with the sweet bran, it starts at once an active fermentation, which is complete in about seventytwo hours. As good a resultcould bereached if the full mash were set sweet mam-wag, ,0

but the full fermentation would require fro five to eight days instead of three days. Therefore the small quantity of sour mash left in the tub quickens the fermentation and" shortens the period. It is unnecessary to add yeast to the mash during the fermentation described above. On distillation of the fermented liquid a fine grade of s irits or whisky will be produced. It shou d be stated that neither the yeast nor the mash should be boiled, since I have found this destro s its fermenting ualities. Spirits produced 1n this way will be as from deleterlous substances and much chea er in roduction than when grain is used in t e orinary way.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is 1. A sour-mash process of producing spirits Without the use of grain or malt, cons1st' ing in adding a new or sweet mash composed of bran, sugar and water, to a retaine ortion of the old or sour mash composed o the same ingredients fermented. a 2. The process of roducing s irits consisting in preparing and heating a ash formed of water, sugar, bran, and then starting ra'pid fermentation by the addition of a yeast'comm osed of water, sugar and bran previously Fermented and soured.

In testimony whereof I have signed m name to this specification in the presence olftwo subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE WINTERS 'P'ALMER. Witnesses E. J. Burns, C. C. TowNsENI'). 

